Their once upon a time
by Fallen Angel from Aldebaran
Summary: We all remember the classical cinderella. But what if Sasuke became the Cinderella, Itachi becomes stepmom and stepsisters combined and Sakura as the princess. And what if cinder sasuke knew Princess Sakura years before the ball? [Sasusaku][r&r]


**Cinder-Sasuke**

Rated: K+ for the meantime

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Droplets of water fell on his fair forehead. He grunted, ignoring the cry of his body. His brother will return anytime now, and he needed to finish mopping the floor of their rather grandeur house. Ironically, he was a servant of his own house. Not to mention his brother… He couldn't quite grasp the idea, you know; him leaving his large room to live in the dingy attic, where the rats were his only companions. His innocence blinded his circumstance, and he did what was asked (ordered, actually) of him out of love for his brother. How he came to love the horrid person he shall never know, he could only guess. 

"One thousand and ninety two, one thousand and ninety three" He counted, noting the number of strokes he did while washing the floor with nothing more than his mere hands, a bucket of water and a piece of sodden cloth. "One thousand and ninety four"

His muscles were already crying out loud, but he learned how to become deaf to that problem. _Pain is good. Pain leads you to success._ Sadly, he was brainwashed at an early age.

From above, he could hear the colossal entrance open, admitting his brother and probably his drunk friends in. Funnily, his brother was a part of a group that did nothing but waste away their parent's money on drinks; yet his brother hated alcohol. A pair of feet stamped hard, most probably his friends, making the cellar's ceiling shake. Dusts that were collected fell down to the wet floor. He sighed, looking up, imagining his brother having fun. Start all over again.

"Sasuke!" a cold voice from above called. Judging by the tone of his brother, he was happy. His tense muscles, which went rigid from the time of the grand arrival, relaxed. Calmly, he walked out of the storage room, making sure that he had on a stony expression, fearing that his happiness might irritate his brother, sadness; make him mad.

"I'm coming" He called, wiping his sooty face to make himself more presentable. He ran up the stairs and quickly arrived at the foot of his brother. He hurriedly bowed at him and at his blue-colored friend. He was waved off like a fly.

"Finished all the chores," He notified his brother, almost proudly. Hey, it was not like everyday that he could finish sorting weapons (millions, in exaggeration), cleaning the whole house from top to bottom (the cellar wasn't included, but he insisted), trimming the grass and cooking dinner in one day.

"Go to your room" was his reply, and Sasuke was bewildered. Usually, Itachi referred to the attic as simply the attic. But if he said room… then it could only mean two things. His older brother began to pull him towards the second floor.

The door that lead to a room opened. The things inside were still intact; pictures, table, bed. Even the brown teddy bear, Benny, was waiting naively for him, head titled to one side. Itachi pushed his younger brother in, and made sure that he banged the door as he closed it; more drama, don't you think? It was then that Sasuke realized that for the first time in two years, he was able to sleep on a soft bed.

But then, there was a hitch; Three hours later, the door opened, his brother opened the door, revealing a slumbering Sasuke. For a moment, a small smile played on Itachi's face, but Sasuke's eyes fluttered; and it was wiped off in seconds.

"Wake up, you," Itachi barked, lightly nudging Sasuke's arm. His younger brother started to stir up. He tapped his foot impatiently. He was a man who wasn't to be kept waiting after all. "Hey! Get up"

"What s'matter?" Sasuke groggily replied. It irritated the hell out of Itachi. He never knew why he hated kids, though he was a big kid as well. He bent down and grabbed Sasuke by the arm. He would've shook him awake, but remembered that he was still after his own blood and refrained from doing so.

"Go lock yourself in the cellar, till I call you," Itachi commanded pulling him out of the room. Of course his word was the law, and Sasuke could not speak in objection. He started to move as soon as he was released, his face turning glummer with each step.  
The rest of the night, he had to endure the dark cramped place. He couldn't understand why his achievements merited punishments.

The next day, his brother left early, said that he had some training to do. Itachi wanted to become a warrior, and was told that he was good at it. Of course, this made his head go past the size of the sun, and he went around boasting his tricks and such. Sasuke had the same dream as his brother; but his parents got killed in the process (though their death remained a mystery). His brother was good to him at first, but lately, he started ordering him stuff like cleaning, shopping for food, cooking, washing and everything a woman does. What, does Sasuke look like a girl to him? His dreams were permanently shattered from then on. Anyway, back to my point; he took the budget that Itachi provided for the food shopping on the table. He sighed, first one this morning, not because he was jealous or anything emotionally distressing. He didn't care that much for his emotions. However, at age eleven, he was being pushed to his physical limits without rest. Well, save for last night. He carefully checked the house, doors all locked, keys safely in his pocket, and then went out.

Almost everyone in the market knew his face, though most call him not by Sasuke, but by 'the prodigy's brother', else, 'Great Itachi's brother'. He was smart not to tell them the truth about his brother, for surely he shall get the beating tonight, if word got around (which was most probably, as issues like this traveled faster than fire). Busy with his thoughts, he didn't realize that there was one person blocking his way.

Ooomph! He exclaimed, and all the vegetables in his basket rolled off. Whoever hit him had a wide hard forehead, and he felt it across his chest as they bumped. Acting like nothing happen, he gave a grunt (his way of saying sorry) and retrieved the rolling cabbage, tomatoes, potatoes and melons.

"Sorry!" It was a girl whom he bumped. Whoever knew? "I'm really, really, reeeeeeaaaaally sorry"

She stooped down at his level and helped him with the tomatoes. She was about to get the potatoes when some airhead decided that it was officially stepping on potatoes day. The mush was immediately covered with dust. And maybe, just maybe, the person whom he bumped wouldn't want to eat the potatoes anymore. Just maybe.

He took a good look at her and noticed the forehead which perhaps would mark on his chest later. He scoffed, and turned away from her, ignoring the tomatoes she was offering to him. What a stupid insolent swine.

"Aren't you going to get your tomatoes?" She asked politely, still holding out the tomatoes. Sasuke returned his stony gaze at her and grabbed the tomato from her. He had no time for chitchats. The girl was slightly taken aback.

"You're welcome," said she, waiting for him to say the magic word. "You're welcome!"

But received none.

"YOU'RE WELCOME!!!!"

"THANK YOU!!!" He hollered back at her. Geez, she's such a spoiled brat. And he hated that. Ugh. Who does she think she is? Well, whoever she was, she's getting in his nerves. Slowly, his onyx colored eyes started to turn red.

"There, that's much better, isn't it?" She asked, standing up and patting the dirt of her dress. She held out a hand for him to take and whispered. "I'm Sakura by the way"

"And I don't care," Sasuke said, standing up on his own. He's a man for goodness' sake! And, like yeah, he needed help from a wide forehead-ed girl. "Why are you whispering anyway?"

She just smiled and walked off; it was the first time that Sasuke noticed the scarf that covered her head. I wonder what's in there. Thought he, I hope its worms. For a first impression, Sasuke thought she was weird, strange, odd, bizarre, peculiar, uncanny, and unusual. And he hoped that their paths won't cross again.

His walk home was a bit more fascinating than ever, because he passed by the town's bulletin. He found a poster of a girl and found the girl on it cute. He nearly blushed, but some neighborhood contemporaries passed by, and he managed to refrain from doing so. His eyes traveled to the text printed below the picture. Missing: Lady Sakura. Suddenly, it hit him. Was that the girl whom he bumped to a while ago? Surely it was not. He looked more closely at it and found that the similarities were impeccable.

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... reviews are luffed. Please and thank you. X3  



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